The Edward D. Freis Papers

Title:

Letter from Paul D. Levinson to Edward D. Freis

Description:

Freis retired from full time duties at Georgetown School of Medicine and the Veterans Administration Hospital in 1987, though
he continued research and writing for many years after. Levinson's letter reflects on Freis's career as a clinician
and role model.

Please accept my sincere regrets at being unable to attend the ceremony honoring your contributions to the Veterans Administration
and to the field of hypertension. Jackie and I would have loved to attend but current circumstances, including two toddlers
at home, made it impossible.

When I became a fellow in your hypertension program in 1978, it was my first exposure to medical research. From observing
your work it became apparent that being a scientist required a compulsive regard for objectivity and detail. At the same
time, you always treated your patients as individuals, and gave them the utmost care and respect. It was this extra dose
of humanity and the zest that you brought to your work which will always stand out in my memory. Now, as I'm in the process
of establishing a hypertension research unit at a Brown University facility in Rhode Island, I find that I can answer many
of the questions which arise by asking myself "How would Dr. Freis have handled it?".

Again, my congratulations to you on this occasion and my best wishes to you in your new capacity as Distinguished Physician.
I hope to see you at another time in the not-too-distant future.